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AMES, Iowa -- An Iowa State University-Iowa Department of
Public Health (IDPH) study uses high-tech devices to encourage
low-tech solutions to escalating childhood obesity rates in
Iowa. This month the researchers are providing the 12
communities with the study results they'll need to achieve
the goal: Create safe routes for children to walk and bike to
school.

"Walking to school is one of the easiest ways for kids to
increase physical activity. But, over the years, we've
changed the environment, making it more difficult to walk or
ride a bike to school. Studies have shown that this has had an
impact on obesity," said Christopher Seeger, ISU associate
professor of landscape architecture and extension specialist.

I-WALK helps school districts

Seeger spearheaded the I-WALK (Iowans Walking Assessment
Logistics Kit) project. It was created to help Iowa school
districts that may need financial or technical assistance with
the U.S. Department of Transportation's Safe Routes to School
(SRTS) program. SRTS provides funds to states to improve the
ability of primary- and middle-school students to walk and bike
to school safely. The Iowa Department of
Transportation funded I-WALK.

Results of the yearlong I-WALK study will be presented to each
community beginning in Adel-De Soto on Monday, Aug. 22. The
other communities are Atlantic, Fort Madison, Hull,
Independence, Kalona, Riceville, Spencer, Tabor, Vinton, West
Des Moines and West Union. (See sidebar for dates.)The team
adapted online mapping technologies and global positioning
systems (GPS) so local volunteers could collect and accurately
map children's current school routes and identify barriers
to safety. They also created tools - including a smartphone
application -- that enabled the 12 communities to implement
safety improvements and route updates for the national SRTS
program.

According to Seeger, communities can make good use of results
when applying for grant funding. The reports will include
thorough documentation of the conditions, needs, barriers and
opportunities for safe school routes. They will help
communities identify the areas to address that will give them
"the most bang for their buck."

Tallies and survey provide baseline

In the study, teachers tallied their students' modes of
transportation to and from school to establish baseline
information. Secondly, students in grades 3 to 5 and their
parents completed an online survey. The survey included
standard questions from the national SRTS program, as well as
questions tailored to Iowa schools. Seeger said the spatial
component in the Iowa questions was key to the I-WALK study.

"A big part of the survey was the spatial questions not
found on the national survey. We asked where they lived and
their perceived distance to school," Seeger explained.
"Lots of people don't know the actual distance. We
also asked them to map their preferred walking or biking routes
to school."

They were also asked to map barriers - such as no sidewalks, no
crossing guard, state highway to cross - and opportunities for
simple improvements, like adding a bike rack.

Innovative field assessment

Seeger said the most innovative component of the project was
the field assessment, which included GPS training for
volunteers. They learned how to conduct an inventory of their
community using iPhones equipped with the ArcGIS app, developed
by the software company ESRI.

Alan Jensen and volunteers
in Riceville.

The volunteers hit the streets, collecting information about
intersections, midblock sidewalks and other features that
impede pedestrians and cyclists. They could photograph an
intersection or sidewalk, pinpoint its location with the
iPhones and send it to the data server.

They reported the existence and condition of sidewalks and
lighting, overgrown vegetation, water pooling on sidewalks,
frightening dogs, painted crosswalks, traffic control at
intersections, heavy truck traffic and other characteristics.

Customized iPhone app.

"We customized the app with our own questions and
connected it with the GIS server so the data the volunteers
collected was mapped online in real time," Seeger said.

"Geospatial data really helps in the design process,"
Seeger said. "And smart phones are going to be a valuable
device for use for environmental research in which you want
public input."

Some general findings

Although findings were specific to each community, Seeger
identified a couple of generalities.

"Community size doesn't appear to determine whether or
not kids walk to school," he said. "Our teacher
tallies showed that it's all over the place. It really
comes down to the culture of the community, the infrastructure
and the school location."

And beyond considerations about how long it takes to walk to
school or Iowa's quirky weather conditions, sidewalks are
the biggest issue.

Residential areas built in recent years, Seeger said, were
often developed without sidewalks.

"If you don't have sidewalks, you've already put
the kids at a disadvantage because the only place for them to
walk is in the street," he said. "Or in some older
communities, the sidewalk infrastructure is crumbling and
falling apart. Sidewalks require maintenance and are expensive
to replace.

Finally, Seeger said communities need a coalition of school
teachers and administrators, city officials, law enforcement
and parents to make a project like this work.

"In order to promote walking or biking to and from school,
it's essential to have the support of the community,"
he said.

"At the core I'm still looking at ways in which
citizens can volunteer to share their knowledge about their
neighborhoods and collect that knowledge spatially so decision
makers can make better decisions about the future," Seeger
said.

On Wednesday, Aug. 17, Seeger will present a paper,
"Incorporating Volunteered Geographic Information into
SRTS planning," at the National Safe Routes to School
conference in Minneapolis.

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Quick Look

An Iowa State University-Iowa Department of Public Health study
uses high-tech devices to encourage low-tech solutions to
escalating childhood obesity rates in Iowa. This month the
researchers are providing the 12 communities with the study
results they'll need to achieve the goal: Create safe
routes for children to walk and bike to school.

Quote

"Walking to school is one of the easiest ways for kids to
increase physical activity. But, over the years, we've
changed the environment, making it more difficult to walk or
ride a bike to school. Studies have shown that this has had an
impact on obesity."